They carried her to safety after her ex shot her. This week, a Tacoma woman said thanks
A Tacoma woman who survived a shooting where she was held hostage by her ex-boyfriend for several hours in July is sharing her story.
Before she spoke, Selena Loredo was helped up to the speaker’s podium by the same Tacoma police SWAT officers who carried her out of her home after she was shot.
Loredo was in a relationship with her ex-boyfriend for 15 years, and they had three children together. He never showed signs of violence but over time began to change and became more paranoid, she said in a news conference Thursday at the Tacoma Police Department Headquarters.
“No one, myself included, could have ever predicted that July 21st would end the way it did,” Loredo said.
Tacoma police were dispatched that day at 7 a.m. to the 1100 block of East 35th Street after it was reported to 911 that Loredo’s ex-boyfriend arrived at her house armed with a gun and refused to leave. Her three children were inside the house, Tacoma police Capt. Eric Scripps said at the news conference.
She informed her neighbor and her stepfather, Juan, who both entered her home where she was being held with her children. The neighbor gathered the children to another part of the home. Her stepfather chose to stay behind and refused to leave Loredo.
“I just went by my instincts,” Juan said during the conference.
Juan said he did not want anything bad to happen to her nor to her ex-boyfriend.
The children were safely evacuated by SWAT officers through a window from an area where the neighbor hid them, Scripps said.
Negotiations began after the SWAT Hostage Negotiations Unit communicated with the ex-boyfriend and Loredo, with the goal of deescalating the situation. Negotiations took about four hours and officers learned the man was going through a mental health crisis.
“I could feel how hard both negotiators were working, not just to keep me and my children safe, but to protect my ex as well,” Loredo said.
At some point, the ex-boyfriend opened fire. Loredo was shot and the man shot himself. SWAT forced themselves into the home and carried Loredo to an ambulance. Both Loredo and the man were taken to local hospitals where he died two days later.
“I remember seeing the eyes of a SWAT officer as he entered my house. I remember his steady voice as he assessed my injuries,” Loredo said.
She said that to this day, she can still see his eyes and hear his voice.
Loredo faced a “long and grueling recovery” after she underwent six hours of emergency surgery. She stayed in the hospital for three weeks and to date has gone through five surgeries.
Tacoma police said that Loredo reached out to the department and wanted to express her gratitude to the officers and SWAT team members who responded. Before the news conference, in a private moment, Loredo hugged every SWAT team member that helped.
“Thank you. I am here today because you risked your lives to save mine. You had no idea what was on the other side of that door, but you went in anyway. You carried me to safety, and you still carry me through my toughest days,” she said.
